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Temple of Travellers' Repose
The '''Temple of Travellers' Repose' is a 2,000-year-old monastery built on the top of a hill in the southern continent. The Temple was famous for its monks' generous treatment of wanderers and for its library: a written tale from visitors was the only donative they ever required. It was visited once by the Black Company in its past, and once more decades later during Croaker's captaincy (Shadow Games). It was a key location days afterward during the concurrent events of The Silver Spike, during which it was captured and besieged. The Temple is situated many "long leagues" south of the territory of the nomadic roi people. To its south is found several miles of woodland, followed by the shaggy hills (a group of "very round, very steep, and completely treeless" geographical features), followed by the gigantic jungles of D'loc Aloc. Before the Books of the North The Black Company stopped at the Temple during its northward migration at least 50 years before Croaker enlisted. They stayed long enough for the Company's Annalist to deposit copies of at least 9 books of the Annals at the Temple, including the Books of Te-Lare, Skete, and Choe. One-Eye and his brother Tom-Tom were present during this visit. ''Shadow Games'' Revisited by the Black Company After the Battle of the Barrowland, the reduced Company traveled southward toward its fabled origin, Khatovar. They retraced their forebears' steps. In the southern continent, One-Eye mentioned the Temple's existence to Croaker, knowing the historian would be unable to refuse a visit. There, at the monks' huge library, Croaker was stunned to find copies of some of the lost Annals of the Black Company's past, including some which had been lost at the Battle of Urban. Croaker, Lady, and One-Eye spent hours there translating the old Annals with the monks and donating new books in return. Departure of the Company The calming atmosphere of the place was mysteriously replaced by a sense of menacing dread, so the Company prepared to continue southward toward Khatovar again. The monks sent for two guides, Wheezer and Baldo, to meet the Company and help them reach D'loc Aloc and beyond. The group had no idea that the evil sensation in the air was caused by the insane Limper, who was hunting them from the north (events transpiring concurrently in The Silver Spike). Once they were about 50 miles away, Murgen and Goblin witnessed the fire-eater over the Temple. Rattled, the group hustled south... they never learned about the imminent danger presented by a hated enemy they believed was dead. ''The Silver Spike'' Capture by the Limper and siege The Limper, Toadkiller Dog, and their ragtag army had to stop their pursuit of the Black Company when they were overtaken north of the Temple by Darling, her allies, and her horde of monsters from Plain of Fear. The Limper breached the Temple walls and remained hidden inside while Darling's windwhale was mauled by the fire-eater. Much of the Temple was subsequently reduced to ruins when the remaining windwhales (at least four) sporadically dropped boulders upon it. Meanwhile, inside, Toadkiller Dog forced the monks to make the Limper a new body from high-quality clay found in a cellar. Before the work could be finished, tiny Plain creatures raided the place, killed the Limper's human allies (while sparing the monks), and chased away Toadkiller Dog. Darling and the Plain creatures departed prematurely, unaware they had not finished the job. The Limper's head yet again survived, floating in a barrel in the Temple cellar. Arrival of the Nacred Toadkiller Dog would return to the Temple, now with the twelve leaders of the Nacred family from a country called Sweeps about 100 miles west. Working in the Temple's cellar, the Nacred gave the demon a new clay leg, and then finished the Limper's gorgeous new clay body. They even sacrificed one of the Temple's surviving monks in a blood ritual to give the clay the semblance of life. The Limper betrayed everyone by collapsing the entrance to the cellar and fled north; the demon dog would follow him later. Only a small handful of Temple monks seemed to survive the bloody events of The Silver Spike. Category:Locations Category:Structures